Runaway Friend
by Ymmas Sirron
Summary: Estel wishes for a friend. Aryn wishes for a happy home. What will each get when their paths collide? Rating may go up in later chapters. I don't know yet. WARNING: Child abuse


Hello there are you lovely readers! Long time no see eh? Well thanks to band camp for a week in the sweltering August heat at ONU my muse woke up and decided it was time to write another story! Maybe even get back to my other ones! Hurray!

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places, or things from Tolkien's work! But I do own my OCs so don't steal them!

Summary: Estel wishes for a friend. Aryn wishes for a happy home. What will each get when their paths collide?

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Estel sat alone in one of the gardens outside the walls of the Last Homely House. His Ada had shooed him out of his study to enjoy the nice weather and play with the elflings. Estel obliged in going outside but he playing with the other elflings was not something he wanted to do. For although the adult elves and his family treated him kindly the elflings were a different story. They made fun of him for being Edain and would point out all the flaws in humans from their inability to climb trees with ease to their rounded ears. Estel having only seen seven winters thought they must be speaking the truth when they called his race inferior so he steered away from the young elves whenever possible. So at this moment when he should have been play sword fighting or playing tag he was sitting on a bench all by himself wishing the twins were home from their hunt or that his Ada didn't have so much work to do. But most of all he wished he had a human friend to confide in and play with so he wouldn't feel alone anymore.

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Her small feet ran across the forest floor only pausing for the slightest second when a particularly sharp rock jabbed into her bare heel. She was running fast and praying hard that it would be fast enough that he wouldn't catch her. She was running away from the only home she had ever known in her short seven-year existence in Middle Earth but no tears clouded her eyes. The only thing shining in those small green eyes was fear. Fear of being caught, fear of being punished, and fear of returning to that awful place. She headed in what she thought was the direction of Rivendell since her town lay a few miles from its borders. She hoped the famed kindness and hospitality of the elves was true and that they wouldn't send her home but merely allow her to hid and rest for awhile. She by no means intended on staying.

After a few house of nearly uninterrupted running (she only stopped momentarily to breath or take a drink from the many creeks that trickled off from the Brunien) on of the many gardens of Rivendell came into view. She stopped and took cover behind a tree to think about how she would ask to stay. Should she just waltz right in and ask to see the Lord of the house? A strange request from such a small child.

'That's it!' she thought. 'I'll just find a child to ask who might help me!' Just as she had this little revelation she heard a small sniffling noise a few yards away in the garden she was hiding on the edge of. She decided to go investigate hoping it would be another child she could talk to.

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Estel didn't quite know why he had started crying. Even though he was only seven he hardly ever cried, even when his Ada had sewn in and taken stitches out of his chin after a nasty spill on the stairs leading to the Hall of Fire which had earned him only more taunts from the elflings on his ungraceful manner. At the thought of this Estel only cried harder. Why couldn't he be like the elves? He just wanted to be accepted by somebody other than his family or the adults. He just wanted a friend. Just as he thought this there was a rustle in the bushes to his left. He stood up from his bench ready to run if it was a foe. He was greatly surprised however when a young girl stepped out from the bushes. Their eyes scanned each other over taking in the other's appearance. She saw a boy about her age with long, wavy dark hair and bright silver eyes wearing a finely embroidered navy blue tunic and leggings. She noticed he had been crying because of his puffy red eyes and tear stained face and she had heard him before she came out of her hiding place. He saw a girl whom he guessed to be near his age with long brown hair hung about her head in ringlets and sad green eyes wearing what looked to be a very worn out dress that was a few sizes too small, torn and dirty with no shoes on her small feet. As Estel's eyes scanned over her face and arms he noticed deep purple bruises and scratches littering her skin. He quickly averted his eyes so not to be rude but then he noticed her hair which was tucked behind her ears. Her _rounded_ ears. Estel felt himself staring but he couldn't shake it. Maybe the Valar had heard and answered his prayers. She didn't seem to care that he was staring and promptly stuck out her hand.

"My name's Aryn, what's yours?" she asked in the common tongue. When he hesitated to reply she took it as him not being able to understand. "How stupid of me! He probably only knows elvish!" She scolded herself aloud thinking he didn't know what she was saying.

Estel grinned because he knew perfectly well what she said. After all he wasn't having those tutoring sessions with Erestor for his health.

"My name is Estel and my father is the Lord of this land," Estel proclaimed proudly gesturing to the area around him.

Aryn smiled and her eyes grew big, "Really? But aren't you like me? How can your father be an elf?"

While Aryn was a sweet girl on couldn't put it past her to be excruciatingly blunt and she had noticed the boy's ears when he had pushed his hair behind them.

Estel blushed and looked down, "I'm adopted."

Aryn watched as Estel opened his mouth to say something further but then close it as if he thought better of it. Aryn decided he probably wasn't comfortable with the situation so she moved on to a friendlier topic.

"How old are you?" she asked curiously.

"Seven," Estel replied smiling and puffing out his chest, "which is hard to get to with all the pranks my brothers play."

"You have brothers? How old are they?" Aryn questioned excitedly.

"They're 2,805 years old." Estel grinned as Aryn's eyes went as big as saucers.

"Wow," Aryn breathed in amazement, "I'm only seven like you."

Estel smiled but it slowly turned into a frown when he realized he had been talking to Aryn for a while and he had no idea why she was here or where she got all those bruises and scrapes. Aryn noticed and nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"What's wrong?"

Estel glanced over the girl's shoulder in the direction she came from and back into Aryn's eyes.

"Why are you here?" Estel asked nervously.

Aryn looked down and stared at her feet as if they held the answer. She knew this question was coming but she didn't exactly know what to say.

"Well I uh… kinda...ran away," she muttered still looking down and then raising her head slowly to look at Estel where she was met with a confused gaze.

"But why?" Estel looked at her as if to say 'are you crazy?'

Aryn looked away and ran a hand down her arm, wincing as she hit a particularly nasty bruise that looked suspiciously like a hand print. Estel's face was one of complete shock as it dawned on him. His Ada told him there were people who didn't treat their children nicely but he didn't think it was that bad.

"You're parents did that to you?"

Aryn turned back to him with tears and hurt in sad green eyes which seem to lack the sparkle they had when they had been talking about Estel's brothers.

"My father," she began, "he beats me and my mom tried to help but then he…" she couldn't continue as her voice caught in her throat and the tears began to roll down her round cheeks.

Estel stared in horror for a moment before blinking and then wrapped a comforting arm around the small girl's shoulders.

"It'll be okay, I'm sure my Ada will help you. It'll be alright," Estel continued to reassure her as he slowly led her to his Ada's study.

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AN: Well what do ya think? Should I continue? This is my first attempt at young Estel so don't laugh! Please review and tell me if I should continue seeing as I'm already started on the second chapter. Cheers! 


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